


Repeat After Me

by BossToaster (ChaoticReactions)



Series: Don't Let's Start Adjacent [4]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Birthday, Fluff, Gen, Twins, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings, twinganes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-01
Updated: 2018-03-01
Packaged: 2019-03-25 10:11:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13831998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChaoticReactions/pseuds/BossToaster
Summary: The end of February is coming up, and both of the twins have strong ideas of how it should be spent





	Repeat After Me

**Author's Note:**

> Note: You need to have finished the entire Don't Let's Start series for this to make complete sense. You may be spoiled if you read this one first.
> 
> Apologies if this is unusually typo-heavy. I rushed it out on the day of b/c I'm very good at planing

“Hey.”

Keith glanced over, one brow raised, as Ryou pulled over out a chair and sat down.  

This meeting room was Keith’s haunt when he would have peace and quiet for Marmora work.  Most of it was communications and reports, but Keith had never been the sort of person who liked doing homework out in the open.  The noises were distracting, people were always trying to nose in on what he was doing, and something more interesting was always happening.  When Keith really needed to get something done, he dedicated a couple of hours to this room.

After a couple of false starts, the rest of the team had accepted this was a quiet space for Keith.  Occasionally, Shiro would bring reports or star maps here to work on, or Pidge would code in the far chair.  Once or twice, Allura or Coran had joined him as well, though Matt had yet to bother.  

On the other hand, Lance, who listened to loud music while he read, seemed to find the whole thing baffling, and Hunk’s nervous habits of clicking pens and tapping his fingers had been in conflict with the whole purpose.  But both of them respected Keith’s habit, and the importance of his Marmora work, so they avoided it.

Until right now, Ryou had fallen into that second group.

With the benefit of hindsight, Keith was pretty sure it was because Ryou was avoiding him, not quiet rooms. Apparently that wasn’t the case anymore.

“You need something?”  Keith asked.  He tilted his head so his ear was facing Ryou, but otherwise didn’t stop typing.

Ryou opened his mouth, then paused.  Instead he reached for the console in the center of the table.  A moment later, the door shut with a resounding thud.

Huh.  Keith hadn’t known those doors could be closed remotely.  He’d have to learn that trick.

“How often do you check the calendars Hunk made?” Ryou asked.  “And yeah, sorry.  I know, this is your busy space.  But I wanted this to be private.”

Keith’s brows rose, intrigued despite himself.  He put down his tablet and tilted his head consideringly.  “Not very.  I don’t really care about dates.  Why?”

Glancing out the wall, as if he could see through it to his goal, Ryou’s lips quirked up.  “It’s the end of February.  I know it’s not a leap year, but... well.”

Oh!  Keith sat up straight, his brows jumping to his hairline.  “You want a birthday party or something?  Shouldn’t you be going to Lance for that?  I don’t really have a lot of experience with planning parties.  Shiro and I have our tradition and that’s about that.”  Speaking of, Keith needed to ask Hunk if they had the supplies to put together some kind of cupcake-alike.  

“What?  No. It’s not my birthday.  Mine’s...”  Ryou flapped a hand.  “Sometime, I dunno.  Maybe one of these days we’ll find my info.  I think the ship they made me in got blown up by Voltron.  Doesn’t matter.  It’s Shiro’s birthday, and I know he’s normally quiet about it, but I was thinking of doing something for him.  Bigger than getting him a cupcake.”  He paused, then frowned.  “No offense.  You know what I mean.”

Keith opened his mouth, then sighed.  “Yeah, I do.  We do that because Shiro never wanted to do more.  Did you ask him about this?”

Brows up, Ryou snorted.  “Are you kidding?”  He sat up straighter and put on a heroic face, like he was getting roped into the stupid Voltron Show again.  “There’s no sense taking time out of our busy schedule for something so silly.  It’s just another day, and it’s not even actually my birthday.  Let’s focus on something more important.”  Dropping the act, he rolled his eyes.  “As if he hasn’t been all for everyone else celebrating  _ their _ birthdays.”

As much as Keith wanted to defend Shiro from the mockery, Ryou wasn’t wrong.  Even so, he crossed his arms and stared him down.  “You can’t make Shiro care about his birthday if he doesn’t.  It’s up to him.”

“I know, I know.  It’s just-” Ryou shrugged and looked down at the table instead of meeting Keith’s eyes.  “It’s been a long couple of years.  His last birthday was with the Galra, and the one before that was during the Kerberos mission.  The one before  _ that _ was all the training for the mission.  I know it’s not usually his thing but... I feel like he’s earned a day. And he won’t give it to himself, so why not use this as an excuse?”

It was a good point.  Keith pressed his lips together, considering.  Knowing Shiro, he was serious about not making a big deal out of the day.  Not just because he didn’t like being fussed over, but because Shiro also despised the ‘you’re a young child’ jokes.

But this was the team.  Family.  So it was probably okay for them to know.  Ryou was right that Shiro more than deserved a day off.  And after the last few birthdays had been so busy or outright miserable, they should break the chain and make it a nice day.

There was just one problem.

“You really don’t want anything?” Keith asked carefully, considering Ryou.  “You’ve been doing the twins thing, and technically this is your first birthday party.”

“What are the chances I was actually born on this date?” Ryou asked.  “Created, started, whatever.  Hell, we’ll probably never know.  We can just have my birthday be the day I started going by Ryou instead, how’s that?”  He met Keith’s gaze, then his own smile faltered.  “You don’t have to push.  I remember.  No taking Shiro’s things.”

A heavy weight formed in Keith’s stomach as he stared at Ryou.  “Hey.  No.  Don’t do that.  I was in a bad place when I said that and you know it.  Like the thing about taking breaks.”  After everything, Ryou had to have let that go.  Keith had thought they had an understanding.

Ryou shrugged.  “It’s not because you said it.  It’s my choice.  But you’re right.  I try to keep out of Shiro’s spaces, but I can’t always.  He’s been way better about it than he has any right to be.  There’s so little here that’s just his, and I don’t want to step on that.  Let him have his birthday.  We’ll do mine another day.”

Taking a deep breath, Keith looked Ryou over.  On one hand, that was a really shitty reason to give up a birthday.  Especially considering the constant jokes that they were twins, which seemed to be slowing morphing into reality.  If Keith had to guess, Shiro wouldn’t agree with Ryou’s assessment.

On the other hand, everything Keith had said before was true.  It was Ryou’s kind-of birthday, and if he didn’t want to celebrate, there wasn’t anything Keith could do to make him.  And Shiro really did have and ask for so little - Keith understood the impulse to focus on him.

Frankly, this was beyond Keith’s pay grade.  He wasn’t great at people anyway, not really.

“Okay,” he finally said.  “What do you want to do for Shiro, then?”

Ryou paused, then relaxed.  “Honestly?  I don’t know.  I was thinking we could talk about it, maybe as a team.  But I had to get you on board first, so we weren’t arguing about it in front of everyone.”

That was fair.  Keith wouldn’t have liked having that sprung on him as a given, which Ryou knew perfectly well.

“We’ll talk.  Lance is probably a better party guy.”  He paused, then frowned.  “Or birthday parties, at least.”

Ryou snickered.  “Aww, don’t let him hear that.  He’ll be heartbroken if he knows you don’t think he’s a cool party guy.”  He reached out and clapped Keith on the shoulder.  “Thanks for looking out for Shiro, too.  Even in the little stuff like protecting his birthdate.”

“Of course. Always.”

Eyes warm, Ryou nodded.  “I’ll leave you to finish up.  And maybe brainstorm ideas.  You know Shiro best.  Even more than me.”  He bounced to his feet, then offered his fist.

Keith knocked his into it, a little amused.  “We can really do better than this.”

“Too late, it’s our thing now.  Later.”  With a last wave over his shoulder, Ryou slipped out and closed the door behind him.

For a long time after, Keith just stared.  Then he sighed and bent back over his report.

***

“Can I speak with you, Lance?”

Lance glanced up and spotted Shiro standing in his open doorway, leaning against the frame.  He shot him a distracted smile and held up a finger.  “Yeah, sure.  One sec?  I’m almost done with this fight.  Unless it’s important.”

Shaking his head, Shiro stepped inside.  “It’s not.  But do you mind if I close the door?”

“No?”  Lance drew the word out, most of his attention still focused on the screen.  The pixel demon took a swipe at his healer, and he held his breath as the HP stopped with just five health left.   _ Whew. _  “That’s fine.  Just take a seat.”

From the corner of his eye, Lance saw Shiro settle down on his bed, hands folded in his lap.  Distantly, he recognized that Shiro seemed awkward. Maybe even nervous.  But it could wait until he-

“Hah!”  Lance threw his hands up triumphantly as the boss turned into dark black smoke and flames, dissolving into nothing.  “Eat that, Matt!  ‘Oh, I used to play this when I was little, let me show you how it’s done.’  This is how!”  Then he remembered Shiro sitting next to him and paused.

Luckily, Shiro seemed amused by Lance’s boasting.  “Did you beat Matt’s score or something?”

Lance forced himself not to wince.  The question highlighted Shiro’s complete lack of experience with the game.  “No, nothing like that.  I got to the same level as him, is all.  I might be able to surpass him if I can keep going.”  But he paused then game and turned around, braced on his hands.  “What’s up, Bossman?”

Frowning at the screen, Shiro nodded slowly.  “Ah.  I see.  I’ve never been into retrogaming.”  Then he focused on Lance again.  “Okay, I’d like to ask you something.  But first I need a promise.”

Ooh, cryptic.  Lance bobbed his head agreeably, holding one hand up.  “Sure.  What am I promising.”

“I’m going to tell you something.  And your first inclination is going to be to make a particular joke about it.  Please don’t.  I’ll be upset if you do.”

Okay, this was getting more and more interesting.  Lance sat up straighter, brows up.  “I can do that.  No jokes.  Got it.  What’s going on?”

Shiro took a deep breath, like he was fortifying himself.  Then he slowly let it go.  “My birthday is coming up.  It’s February 29th.”

“Hey, happy birthday!  You’re-”  Lance’s eyes went wide.  “You’re a leap year baby?  So you’re-”  

Then the promise caught up with him.

Groaning, Lance covered his face with his hands.  “No fair!  I didn’t know what I was giving up.  You- gah!”

Shiro crossed his arms and stared him down.  “I’m not a young child, no.  I am not the youngest person here. I’m not any of the jokes you’re thinking.  Do not make them, Lance.  I will walk out, and I will deny it if you bring it up.  Don’t do this.  You promised.”

He had.  But damn, it was so hard to resist.  Lance bit his bottom lip and nodded jerkily.  “Fine.  Fine.  No- okay.  Why are you telling me this?  Are we having a party?  I’m down for a party.”

“No.”  Shiro wrinkled his nose.  “Please don’t.  No offense, but I’ve never been interested in making a big deal of my birthday.  Especially since it just invites more teasing.”

Lance inclined his head.  “I mean, I can’t argue that one. Alright, then why are you telling me this?  Just to deny me easy jokes?  Cruel.”

That earned him a flat look.  Shiro sighed and shook his head.  “No, I’m telling you because that makes it Ryou’s birthday, too.  I might not be interested in a party, but he should have one.”  He met Lance’s eyes, his own gaze softening.  “It’ll be his first.  He deserves a nice one.”

Oh.

Chest tightening, Lance nodded.  “Yeah, I gotcha.  That makes sense.”  After everything that had happened recently, Ryou more than deserved a day to relax and have fun.  “But, you know, if Ryou suddenly has a birthday party then people are going to figure out that it’s yours too.  And you deserve a nice day too.”

“I’ve had almost two dozen birthdays,” Shiro replied.  “And they don’t mean much to me.  They haven’t for a long time.  This should be special for Ryou.  That’s a better present than anything else I could get.  They’ll figure it out, sure, but the focus should be on him.”  His hands twisted together in his lap, fingers tightly intertwined.

Since the accident with Ryou’s arm, Shiro had been more protective of Ryou.  He wasn’t alone, either.  All of them had gotten a good scare, Lance included.  It had been  _ terrifying, _ to see him emptied out like that.

But that didn’t mean that sacrificing Shiro’s birthday to Ryou was the right answer.  Maybe Ryou deserved a nice day, but so did Shiro.  And knowing him, Ryou would prefer to share the day with his brother anyway.

One look at Shiro’s tight expression proved that it was an impossible argument.  He was bound and determined to make this happen for his brother.

So Lance smiled and nodded.  “Alright, I can whip something up.  I mean, I could have done with some more warning to really pull out the stops.  And I’m going to have to tell Hunk what’s up at the very least.  But I’ll make it a good birthday for him.

Immediately, Shiro brightened and relaxed.  “Thank you.  I appreciate that.  I’d plan it myself but Ryou’s always in my files and work.  He’d find out within the day.”  He let out a low, annoyed sigh and rested his arms on his knees.  “I don’t know how he got to be so nosy.”

“It’s a little brother thing,” Lance replied, his smile growing.  “I’m like that with my brother and sister.  Or he got it from Hunk.”

“Might have been Hunk.”  Shiro smiled back, eyes shining playfully.  “Really, Lance, thank you.  It means a lot, and I’m sure he’ll appreciate it.  I’m sure you’ll plan a more fun party than I would, anyway.”

Lance shrugged, looking Shiro up and down.  “I dunno, you guys do have interests in common.  Besides the obvious.  Put out some Star Trek crap and I’m pretty sure you’d both be thrilled.”

“Depends on the series or movie,” Shiro informed him, nose in the air.  But he grinned, ruining the snobbish air.  “Now, one more favor?  You mind if I watch for a bit?  Ryou and Matt keep talking about this game and I’ve got no idea what they’re talking about.”

“Sure.”  Lance patted the spot next to him.  “Honestly, I’m probably going to get a game over soon.  We can start you a new save file and you can play for yourself.”

Settling down, Shiro folded his legs under him and eyed the screen dubiously.  “Why don’t I watch for a bit first?  Just to get the idea.”

Shiro was like Allura, really.  Both of them really hated to struggle in front of other people, even when the task was hard and it was their first time.  The key was to let them go at their own pace, be honest about their progress, and to support them when they tried.

Lance could do that.

“Okay, here, let’s go over the controls.  This button here is for jumping, and this is selection...”

***

 

Keith was just changing into his pajamas when there was a knock on the door.

Sighing, he yanked on the top - still red and gold - and turned to answer it.  He expected Shiro, probably, looking to talk about their day.  Or maybe it was Allura checking in on something, or Pidge demanding his help with some project.  

Lance was the last person he expected.

“Hey,” Lance said, tapping his fingers on the doorframe.  “I need to talk to you.”  Then he glanced side to side, like a shady character in a kid’s show.  “Privately.”

How many people needed to talk to Keith alone today?

Keith nodded and backed up, gesturing for Lance to come in.  As soon as the door was closed, he raised his brows.  “What did you want?”

“Uh, well...”  Lance sat down (uninvited) on Keith’s bed and frowned up at him.  “Ryou and Shiro’s birthday is coming up, right?”

Freezing habitually, Keith stared at him.  “Who told you that?  Ryou?”  No, that didn’t make sense.  Ryou would have pulled the same line he told Keith about his birthday being another date.  “Matt?”

Lance stared at him.  “Jeez, I found out his birthday, not plotted to try to steal the Black Lion.  And Shiro told me himself, as a matter of fact.”

...He had?  So far as Keith knew, Shiro had never told anyone his birthday.  In the end, Keith had to ask Montgomery, since she had access to his file.

Why had he told  _ Lance? _

“Fine, yeah.  It is.  Don’t make the jokes, trust me.”

“Found that one out.”  Lance crossed his arms, looking distinctly put out, like not making dumb leap year jokes was an affront.   _ “Anyway, _ Shiro told me because I’m a trustworthy, fun guy.  And also because he wanted me to plan a party for Ryou since it’s his first, kinda.  But I wanted to make it for both of them, and you know Shiro best, so I figured I’d ask you if you had ideas.”

Keith blinked rapidly at Lance, processing that.

Then he leaned back against the wall and groaned.  “Of course he did.  Of  _ course.” _

“What?  Why is that bad?”

“It’s not.  It’s just-”  Keith dragged a hand down his face and shook his head.  “Ryou did the exact same thing to me.  Said his birthday was the day he picked his name, and we should do something special since Shiro’s last few birthdays have sucked so bad.”

Lance stared.

Then he burst out into laughter.  “Oh my god,” he managed, flopping back onto Keith’s bed (still uninvited).  “They’re so freakin’  _ hopeless. _  It’s pathetic.”

Like with Ryou, Keith bristled in defense of Shiro.  But this time he couldn’t really argue the point.  “So, what now, then?”

Lance slowly sobered, still staring up the ceiling.  “Well.  Huh.  Wait, Ryou asked you to make a party for Shiro?’  He jolted up and frowned.  “Why?”

Keith met Lance’s gaze flatly.  “What are Shiro’s hobbies?”

“Uh-”  Lance paused, then tilted his head.  “Um.  He likes to... fly?  And he likes those old nerdy sci-fi stuff.  He doesn’t like classic video games, but the way he said it made me think he likes newer ones.  But we can’t get those so...  Okay, I see your point.”

Rolling his eyes, Keith sighed.  “And he didn’t, technically.  He just wanted to run it by me, since I know Shiro usually doesn’t do birthday stuff.  He was going to have everyone help plan.”

“Oh.  That’s okay, then.”  Lance nodded, an easy bob of his head.  “Okay, so, we can use this.  While we’re planning and setting up whatever we want to do.  We just have to wink at Ryou and he’ll think it’s for Shiro and help, and give Shiro a nod and he’ll think it’s for Ryou.”

Keith leaned against the wall and nodded slowly.  “That makes sense.”  It was actually pretty clever, using their expectations and desire to surprise each other against them.  “Okay, but then we have to keep it from both of them.  What’s our justification when we’re supposed to be helping to plan.”

Pausing, Lance frowned.  “Oh.  Didn't think of that.  Shiro just asked me to plan it, ‘cause he knows Ryou goes through his files all the time for work stuff.  For Ryou... uh, Shiro’s been hovering like crazy, recently.  If he picks up a birthday plan from anyone, it’ll be him.”

That would work, probably.  Ryou had plenty on his plate anyway.  But that might not be enough.  “What if we sent Ryou on a different hunt anyway?” Keith asked slowly.  “Kept him distracted.  Convinced him that a great gift would be getting Shiro to accept an Altean arm.”

Lance brightened.  “Oh, that’s good!  Especially since they’re going to be working on both their arms soon anyway.  He’s probably already doing it.  If you back him up and say it’s the best for Shiro, he’ll latch onto that.”

“Okay, that should do it.”  And if it worked and Shiro agreed to switch out his arm, then Keith would be happy.  If nothing else, an arm that could be removed for sleeping would be idea.  Shiro got so little sleep anyway, and having to constantly adjust for a metal arm could not be helping.

“Cool.”  Lance kicked his feet out.  “So, we know how we’re going to keep it from them.  Now what are we going to  _ do?” _

Keith frowned, considering.  “If we do a party, just a relaxed one with us.  No one Shiro has to be on with.”

“Duh.”

“But maybe not that first?”  Keith closed his eyes, thinking about it.  “See, what I’m thinking about is the moment they realize it’s for both of them and they’ve been tricked.  It’s possible they’ll spend a while arguing with us instead of enjoying themselves.  It needs to be something they can’t refute.”

Lance pressed his lips thin.  “Yeah, maybe.  So, something they can’t take back, and no chance to argue it.  And something they can do together without having to share.”  Suddenly, his eyes brightened.  “I have an idea.”

***

Ryou bounced on the heel of his feet as the castle came to a gentle stop on the planet.  Next to him, Shiro stood with his back straight and his eyes laser focused on the castle doors.

He’d bought it.  The whole stupid story.

The team had done an amazing job of banding together and putting the plan together.  With Allura and Coran on board, there was no reason for Shiro to think this was anything but a standard diplomacy mission.  They handled making the lie believable, while Pidge and Matt replaced the bridge Star Chart with a fake just long enough to cover up their real goal.

Whatever it was.  Ryou still didn't know.  Shiro's latest habit of hovering had spooked the rest of the team, and he'd been summarily locked out of the planning files.

Rude.

Regardless, Ryou found himself fighting the need to squirm.  He was dying to see what the team had put together for Shiro, and to see his brother really have fun and relax.  He'd taken on so much after the past year, and survived even worse before that.  It was time to have a day dedicated to letting him have a good time.

As Ryou watched, Shiro surveyed the room, already wearing his good-leader-Black-Paladin face.  He tilted his head, catching someone's eyes and smiling.

It was Lance.

Huh.  Maybe they'd had a heart to heart, recently.  It wasn't unheard of, though normally one or the other would have told Ryou.

As if he felt the eyes on him, Shiro turned and caught Ryou's gaze.  His brows rose in silent question -  _ something wrong? _

Ryou tilted his head in answer.   _ No, just curious.   _ With that, he focused on the door again, before his attention could alert Shiro that something strange was happening.

The ramp shuddered, then came down with regal slowness.  Natural light poured in, filling the entrance hall with a soft, yellow glow.  Either this planet had a very different atmosphere, or it was just after dawn on this planet.  As the metal lowered, it revealed thick, lush plant life and humid air, like they'd landed in the middle of a jungle.

What kind of party were they having here?

Finally, the ramp touched the soft soil below, embedding in slightly.  Dead ahead of them, halfway blended with the bushes and trees, was a large, stone building.  The stone had dark stripes running through it, like a rough marble, and it fit together in a way that said 'rustic but professional.'  The doorway and much of the walls were made of glass, probably giving a view to the gorgeous plantlife.

Ryou had no idea what he was looking at.

Before he could ask, the doors opened, and two beings stepped through.  They were long and tall, with four arms like the Unilu, but far thinner and with dark blue skin.  They had stripes like the marble behind them, theirs in a much lighter blue.  Both were dressed identically in white smocks, with small, dark symbols on the corner like a logo.  Uniforms, then.

"Greetings," said one, bowing deeply.  Their long, rabbit-like ears flopped forward from the movement.  "You would be our morning appointment, then?"

Turning to Shiro, Ryou opened his mouth to head off the confusion, only to find Shiro staring right back at him, one hand up.

They both paused, confused at the other's lack of confusion.

"Yes," Allura confirmed, stepping forward.  "You have been made aware of the conditions, yes?"

The other attendant nodded, their bottom hands folded calmly in front of them.  "We have.  You will have constant communications access, and every security measure has been taken.  Our clients are often the influential, and so we have measures for protecting those we are seeing to."

From Allura's nod, she knew that very well, and that was why they were here in the first place.  "Excellent.  Then it's settled, then."  She turned and smiled at Shiro, then at Ryou.  "Welcome to the Travalian Spa.  Happy Birthday."

Ah, that explained the atmosphere.  The attendants and the environment did give off that particular blend of professional and pseudo-mystical.  Relaxing as the pieces clicked, Ryou turned to Shiro with a smile, eager for his reaction.

But Shiro was smiling back at him, gaze warm and indulgent.

Their grins dropped at the exact same moment.  Instead, Ryou narrowed his eyes and tilted his head.   _ Did you know about this? _

_ Did you?  _ asked Shiro's furrowed brow and twitching fingers.

Ryou ignored that, and painted on a smile again.  "Happy Birthday, bro.  Spa day isn't what I would have picked, but getting you to relax is a great goal.  Go get a massage for once."

"It's not for me," Shiro said.  From his tone, he was trying to be level and confident, but there was an undercurrent of steel.  He turned to face Lance, brows up.  "It's for Ryou."

Lance colored and held up both his hands.  "Well, yeah, it is."  When Ryou's eyes narrowed, he gave a quick, blindingly bright smile.  "It's for both of you.  Surprise!"

"It's not my birthday!"  Ryou whirled to face Keith, hands on his hips.  "Did you know about this?"

One brow up, Keith stared back.  "Of course."

"What do you mean, it's not your birthday?" Shiro shot back, whirling on Ryou.  "Of course it is."

"You really thing Haggar happened to clone you on your birth date?" Ryou drawled back.

"What does that matter?  Who cares when Haggar did anything!  She doesn't get to pick when your birthday is.  It's today."

"You don't either!  It's not today, because today is your birthday."

"We're twins!"

"Not  _ literally!" _

_ "Enough!" _  Hunk paused, when everyone, including both attendants, turned to stare at him.  Then he backed up, cheeks going pink.  "This is silly."

Pidge crossed her arms and nodded, managing to look down her nose at both of them.  It was a look she'd absolutely picked up from her father.  "I understand you both wanted to surprise each other.  But we wanted you both to have a good day, and we went through a lot of trouble to plan this.  If you could please stop yelling at each other, that would be nice."

Oh.  That was fair.  Ryou still shot Keith a flat look, disappointed in him.  Of everyone in this room, he should have understood why Shiro needed this day for himself, no matter what he said.

But Keith just stared back, brows up and arms crossed.  His body language said  _ I know you're wrong and I'm right _ better than words ever could.

Shiro took a deep breath, then let it go.  "You're right.  Thank you for doing this.  It's really lovely of you.  But I don't have time to dedicate to this, and Ryou is the one who's never had a chance to celebrate his birthday.  This should be his."

"Actually, Number One, you do have time."  Coran beamed at him, but his eyes shone with something like a threat.  "We made sure that we're in a good position without you for the day.  We can still form Voltron as well.  We'll be running some long overdue repairs on the castle, so we wouldn't be responding to distress signals except in cases of emergency anyway."

"It's gunna be a mini vacation for us, too," Matt reported.  "Gunna test out some changes in the castle.  And you know damn well you don't let anyone else get away with 'oh I'm too busy for my birthday.'  What makes you think it'll fly for us."

Allura nodded.  "It's all set up for the both of you.  We are not taking it back.  Either accept this gift or reject it."

Well, when they put it like  _ that. _

Ryou regarded Shiro, then nodded.  "Okay.  Both of us.  Spa day."  It still made Ryou's chest feel cold and tight to nose in one what should have been Shiro's special day, but he doubted this was the time or place to argue it.  

"Alright," Shiro sighed, equally chastised.  "I- thank you.  This is thoughtful of you all."

"Yeah, same.  Thank you."  Ryou glanced over the group.  "Who's idea was this?"

Lance looked at Keith, who shrugged.  "It was a team effort," he finally said.

Hm.

Okay, apparently they were going to do this.  Ryou clapped Shiro on the shoulder and offered a smile.  "We're around if you need us.  You sticking around in the area?"

"Yes," Allura said.  Then she set her jaw and refused to elaborate more.  Apparently they were officially out of the loop for all team, castle, and work-related conversations.

Fair enough.

"Do we just...?"  Shiro glanced back at the attendants, who had watched the conversation unfold without comment or reaction.  If this was weird for them, they didn't act like it.

The one on the right gestured for them to follow.  "If you are ready, you may come inside, and we will begin your day."

Well, nothing left but to do it, then.  Ryou gave Shiro's shoulder a gentle shove, getting him walking, then followed him down the ramp.  On the way down, he shot Lance a narrow look over his shoulder.  He'd been  _ played, _ and Lance had totally kept it from him the whole time.

All he got was a smile and a slightly-smug wave goodbye in return.

Oh, Ryou was going to grill him to hell and back when they were done here.

"This way," said the bunny-eared attendant.  They lead Ryou and Shiro to the door and lead them through the lobby.  "There are three phases to your package.  The first is cleansing, where you will be given a variety of options for relaxation and soaking.  The second is a massage, from our award-winning practitioners.  The last is cosmetic, where we can apply facial creams, skin care options, and a variety of options for hair, fur, or scale maintenance.  It was suggested that you may want to take advantage of our options for dyes."

Ryou ran a hand through his hair, blinking rapidly in surprise.  "Oh.  Yeah.  You'd just touch up the roots?"

"Our specialists will use a chemical compound that helps to change the pigmentation of the follicles at a root level," said the other attendant.  "This will cause your hair to grow in the color you wish for a period up to six pheobs."

Eyes wide, Ryou stared.  "Oh.  I- yes.  That'd be good.  That's not till later, right?"

"Correct."  

They were lead to a small room with tile flooring and bright overhead lights.  Two fluffy robes, both in silver, sat on a table, along with some kind of binder.  "You may change in here," said Bunny-Ears.  "We will be back to check on you shortly.    While you wait, you may look at options for your phases in the provided materials."

Shiro nodded to them, offering a smile.  "That sounds great.  Thank you."

With that dismissal, both bowed again, then closed the door behind them as they left.

Immediately, Shiro turned and eyed Ryou.  "Why isn't today your birthday?"

"I told you, because I wasn't made today.  That's usually what a birthday is.  Or, nine months later, at any rate."  Ryou rolled his shoulders, lips pressed thing, and half-stomped over to one of the robes.  He started to strip, movements jerky.  "So why pick today?  Or in a year and a day, technically."

"Why not pick that day?"  Shiro made no move to get to his robe, just watching Ryou move.  "It's just weird, that this is where you draw the line, is all."

Ryou sighed.  "Are you seriously pissed at me for trying to let you have a nice birthday?  I'm very sorry for caring for you and wanting you to have a day off.  Forgive me, brother.  Do I need to go down on my knees and beg?"

"No!"  Shiro groaned and snagged up his robe as well, holding it up in his hands to inspect.  It had the same symbol on the right breast, probably the logo of the establishment.  "But- look, I just think that if you don't want to keep doing this, you should say something, that's all."

This time, Ryou paused and glanced at Shiro.  "Don't want to do what?"

"The whole..."  Shiro rolled his hand.  "Us thing.  Twins.  I know it's not literal, fine.  But we've been leaning into it.  But if it was too much or too weird or you didn't like it, you could have said instead of just changing things up."

Ryou's mouth fell open.  "That's not what I'm doing!"

"Then why not have the same birthday?"

Was that  _ really _ what Shiro had gotten from this?  Ryou punched Shiro solidly on the shoulder, making him grunt.  "Don't put words in my mouth!  I'm not- no!  This isn't about me.  It's about you, for once in your stubborn, stupid life.  Your last three birthdays all  _ sucked. _  The Galra, Kerberos, Grandfather- all of it.  So, yeah, for once I wanted you to have a nice birthday without everyone making a big deal out of 'oh, ha ha, Ryou's turning one.'  I didn't want to take this from you."  He sat down heavily on a bench and buried his face into the robe.  Irritatingly, it was perfectly soft on his face.  "You shouldn't have to share with me."

"You shouldn't have to share with me either."  Shiro sat down next to Ryou with a sigh, pressing their shoulders together.  "I don't really care about my birthday, and you know that.  It doesn't matter to me that they haven't always been good.  You haven't had any, so I wanted yours to be a nice experience to start it off  Maybe we should do the different birthdays thing, if you really want.  But I- I want to share with you.  It makes it more real.  I should have been sharing my birthday from the start anyway."

Picking his head up, Ryou tilted his head till it brushed against Shiro's.  "I just didn't want to be in your way.  You share so much with me anyway.  Including your real brother's name."

"You're my real brother."

"I'm your clone, Shiro."  Ryou leaned in closer, his eyes falling closed.  "You didn't ask for me to be made.  Someone did it against your will to hurt you and the people you love.  I could still do it."  His stomach iced over as Ryou swallowed compulsively, fighting off pressure in his throat. 

Shiro huffed, then pulled Ryou in by one arm.  "No, you're my real brother.  My very stupid brother.  That Ryou from before was never someone I knew.  I've had people ask me dozens of times if I ever felt like I was missing something.  And I wasn't, because that Ryou never made an impression on me.  Maybe he should have, but we never got to know each other.  There was nothing to miss until I  _ did _ have a brother.  So I want to share with you.   Now, I finally get what they were talking about. I wish I could have shared when we were supposed to growing up.  So I'd rather share now then have a birthday alone again."

Eyes closed, Ryou nodded.  He wrapped his arms around Shiro and squeezed back tightly.  "Okay.  I'm sorry.  I wasn't rejecting you, I swear.  I just wanted today to be special to you."

"It doesn't get less special for having you there.  I just wanted you to have a nice birthday with people who love you."  Shiro smoothed up and down Ryou's back.  "I know I've been a little helicopter-parent with you recently.  It was just a scare, when you were asleep.  And, yeah, I wanted someone else to suffer the 'you're a little kid' jokes for once."

"Asshole."  Ryou pulled back to smile at him.  "Okay.  Well.  I guess we're sharing, because you're not getting out of this and leaving me to suffer."

"Woe."  Shiro punched him gently on the shoulder, barely making him rock.  "Well, good.  Now we better change and get a look at that book, because it's been a while."

Oh, right.  Ryou nodded and started to strip again, then gleefully pulled on the robe.  "It feels like wearing a cloud.  Cool.  You think we get to keep these?"

"They might charge us for it, but it is a birthday present."  Shiro pulled off his vest and boots, then paused.  "Um, do you mind?"

"I've seen it all," Ryou reminded.  "Scars and body."  But he obligingly sat down and pulled over the binder, flipping through it.  "Oh, hey, they do mud baths for the soaking part.  Do you want to do that?  You've only seen them on TV, right?"  Plus, Shiro would probably be more comfortable in mud than clear water, since it would hide his body.

"I've never been in any place that had mud baths before, I think."  There was rustling, and Ryou saw Shiro set down his nicely folded shirt and pants on the table.  "I don't mind doing that.  What are the other options?"

Ryou continued to flip through.  It was nice, to have physical pages to turn.  He could remember doing it, but his hands had technically never done the actions before.  The tactile feel of paper under his fingertips was satisfying.  "Mostly Jacuzzi stuff.  What I'd expect, honestly.  Mud bath sounds the most fun."

Pulling on the robe, Shiro sat down next to him.  "Mud path it is.  Let's see about the hair stuff.  I'm curious how that dye works."

"Thinking of going white too?"

"You'd tear my hair out."

Ryou placed a hand on his chest.  "I would not!  I'd dye the back of my hair black and confuse everyone when we got back to the castle."

That startled a laugh out of Shiro.  "They deserve it after lying to us like that.  Playing us against each other like that was dirty."

Humming his agreement, Ryou flipped to the back.  There was a lot about scale polish and preening which he skipped, and then he paused on a page covered in photos of beings with long hair and fur.  "They can grow hair out? Alien technology is so cool."

Shiro's brows rose.  "You thinking about it?  You keep your hair shorter than mine, I would have figured you'd hate it."

"Well, I couldn't make it longer as fast, could I?  And it helps keep us apart."  Ryou tugged on his shorter bangs and shrugged.  "I got rid of the long hair originally because it was giving me headaches.  Too wrong.  But I could do it now.  Assuming this doesn't kick back in."  He waggled the fingers of his prosthesis.

Immediately, Shiro's expression hardened.  "It won't."

Ryou shrugged. 

"It  _ won't." _  Shiro picked his head up and met Ryou's eyes.  "You should do it.  Grow out your hair.  If she didn't want you to do it, that's a really good reason to go with it.  If you end up hating it, we can cut it back off.  I'll help.  But why not?  Skip a few months of growing it out."

"More than that."  But Ryou swallowed hard, a little unnerved by the intensity of Shiro's insistence.  "Maybe.  I'll think about it."

There was a quiet knock on the door.  After a pause, Bunny-Ears stuck their head in and blinked slowly at them.  "Are you prepared for the first phase?"

"We are," Shiro said.  "But we're still thinking about the other phases.  Can we take the binder with us?"

"Of course," Bunny-Ears said.  "What have you chosen?"

Ryou grinned.  "Mud bath."

"Right this way, then."

For the first time, giddy excitement bubbled in Ryou's stomach.  A mud bath was both a novelty and a luxury.  And, honestly, it was nicer to do it together.  If it had been just Ryou, the atmosphere of this place be too distracting.  He knew damn well that Shiro would be the same way.   No matter how much of a teacher's pet he'd been, he still had that hint of anti-establishment in him, and a place like this that set such a  _ mood _ came on too strong.  Together, they could gently mock it to each other instead of getting riled.

"Ready?"

"Yeah."  Shiro knocked their shoulders together again.  "Let's go."

***

"Woah!  Look at you!"

Ryou grinned and ducked his head, so Lance could examine the pure white braid for himself.  "Neat, right?  And it'll keep growing in like this for half a year, almost.  No more roots all the time."

Eyes wide, Lance whistled.  "Yeah?  Aww, I'll kind of miss helping you with it.  Even if you're a big baby when it comes to the bleach."

"It burns!"  Despite his protest, Ryou grinned.  Then he shot forward and pulled Lance into a hug.  "Thank you.  I'm still kinda pissed at you for playing us like fiddles, but it was nice."  He glanced over at Shiro, who was clapping Keith a little too firmly on the back.  He looked softer than Ryou had seen, well, ever.  His skin nearly glowed with the products that had been massaged into it, and his movements were loose from the massage.

It had been a damn good birthday present.  Not one Ryou would have ever thought of, but that might be the mold he was cast from.

"You're welcome," Lance said.  He gave Ryou a tight squeeze back.  "It's not over, yet.  Hope you guys didn't fill up on cucumber water or whatever they had.  Hunk made a feast.  A very crunchy feast."

Ryou perked, his smile widening.  Since he couldn't taste, Hunk was good about catering to textures that Ryou like best, and crunchy was his top pick.  "That sounds perfect."

"Only the best for our birthday boys,"  Lance called, his tone dropping to a suspicious coo.

Immediately, Ryou froze.  "What did you do?"

Lance blinked rapidly, like he was trying to flutter his lashes.  "What do you mean?"

"What did you  _ do?" _

Eyes daring to Shiro, Lance stepped forward and cupped a hand over his mouth.  "There might be a couple of age-appropriate decorations.  We made hats.  But they're Star Trek!  It was Matt's idea, I swear.  I just maybe didn't try and stop him very hard."

"Is the number 5 on anything?"

Lance gave a sheepish smile and shrugged.

Slowly, Ryou's grin built back up.  "Just let me get in early so I can take pictures."

Letting out a gleeful laugh, Lance nodded.  "Yeah, alright, c'mon."

With a last glance at Shiro, still in a deep conversation with Keith, Ryou followed Lance into the dining room.

'A couple' turned out to be a vast, vast understatement.  The room was fully decked out, from balloons with bright yellow numbers, to colorful paper plates and a table cloth, to the streamers on the wall.

Half of it proudly sported the number 5.

The other half read '1'.

Ryou slowly turned his flat stare onto Lance, who burst out laughing.  

It was on the tip of Ryou's tongue to protest, but instead he just pulled Lance and laughed.

This was because the team loved them.  They teased because they were family, same way Ryou constantly gave Shiro shit over what a damn hipster he was.

Looking over the ridiculous decorations and smiling faces of the team, Ryou couldn't regret a thing.

Especially when Shiro walked in, and the look of horror on his face was captured on film.

**Author's Note:**

> Looking for more content like this? Find me at [my tumblr](bosstoaster.tumblr.com).


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